Sinotruk Group, the largest heavy-duty truck maker in China in terms of sales volume, is likely to establish manufacturing plants in Taiwan, the Executive Yuan said in a statement yesterday.

The Shandong Province-based group, whose shares are traded in Hong Kong through Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd, “has made a preliminary decision to build factories at Changpin Industrial Park in central Taiwan,” the government statement quoted Premier Wu Den-yih as saying.

The Chinese company’s decision to manufacture trucks was based on “Taiwan’s complete supply chain of technology and automobile industries,” Wu said in the statement. “The [better] value of made in Taiwan [products] was also an important factor” behind the company’s move,” he added.

In a separate statement, Wu said Sinotruk planned to ship vehicles produced in Taiwan to the US and Europe.

Sinotruk’s main products include trucks and related key parts and components. The company markets its products under the Howo, Sitaier King, Sitaier and Huanghe brands. It also trades its yuan-denominated A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported on Saturday that the Chinese company was considering investing up to 1 billion Chinese yuan (US$146 million) on its planned assembly plants at the Changpin Industrial Park in Changhua County, citing unnamed Ministry of Economic Affairs officials. 

The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported the projected investment could reach as much as NT$5 billion (US$158.2 million), also citing unnamed ministry officials. No precise timeframe was offered in the reports.

However, Ling Chia-yuh, director-general of the investment services department, told the Taipei Times yesterday by telephone that “it would be too early to talk about the investment amount and the timeframe for the time being.”

Ling, who has recently wrapped up a trade mission to several Chinese companies to promote investment opportunities in Taiwan, said Sinotruk was considering investing in Taiwan, but “being a listed company, it would need some time to finalize its plan,” he said.

Ling said Sinotruk chairman Ma Chunji expressed an interest in visiting Taiwan some time this year.

He declined to elaborate.